Ski holidays and ski holiday hotels in Austria
Quite simply the most skiing obsessed country in the world – skiing permeates every aspect of life. Austria produces a ski holiday product that in many respects leads the world. Austria has some of the most beautiful ski holiday villages, it hosts the most celebrated ski race in the world and in terms of value for money and quality, ski holidays in many of the ski holiday resorts are hard to match.
Not as high as the Swiss, as big as the French or as organised as North American ski resorts; however the sheer passion for skiing, the charming villages and the breathtaking scenery mean a ski holiday in Austria in many respects cannot be matched anywhere. Ski holiday resorts such as St Anton
or Ischgl offer terrain that rivals any other ski area, Kitzbuhel is alive with après ski in a medieval walled town centre and given the status and prevalence of skiing in Austria, any location west of Salzburg has easy access to numerous ski holiday resorts and ski areas.
Glacier skiing in the Spring, Summer and Autumn
Glacier skiing is widespread in Austria with a number of glacier skiing options in the Tirol, including the
Hintertux Glacier,
Solden, the
Stubai Glacier, the Kaunertal Glacier and the Pitztal Glacier. Generally speaking all offer excellent snow conditions in the spring, whilst skiing is possible throughout the summer on some glaciers but for the warmest periods and when lifts are closed for scheduled maintenance. In spring the glaciers offer long and sunny days and can often see fresh powder snow into June. Autumn is a good time to visit as well with the official opening often taking place in the first week of October. Outside of the Tirol, the Schladming - Dachstein Glacier, the
Molltaler Glacier and the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier make up the bulk of the other glacier skiing options in Austria.
Summer holidays in Austria
Austria may well be best known as a winter destination but the superb scenery and mountains offer a great option for those wanting clear air, dramatic surroundings and excellent Austrian hospitality. Summers in the Austrian mountains are characterised by warm days, cool nights with frequent storms following hot days.
Après ski in Austria
There is a national pastime that follows, sometimes overlaps and occasionally replaces the skiing – après ski! Resorts such as Mayrhofen, Saalbach and Solden offer some of the best après ski to be found anywhere. St Anton and Ischgl are not far behind and most resorts in Austria celebrate the end of a ski day with schnapps and a dance in ski boots.
Ski holiday deals in Austria
The ski holiday resorts of Austria offer broadly very good value – ski holiday hotel accommodation, dining, ski hire, après ski and ski lift passes make the country price competitive with all but the cheapest holiday resorts in the east. Multi-resort ski passes are increasingly prevalent as Austria tries to catch up France is this regard. To see the latest accommodation offers go to Accommodation deals.
Ski seasons in Austria
Most resorts open from mid-November onwards, depending on the prevailing conditions.
Glacier skiing offers the chance of early or late season spring skiing as well as guaranteed skiing throughout the winter in Austria. Austria has possibly the best glacier skiing in Europe with the Stubai Glacier offering some 200km of ski pistes and a modern and highly efficient ski lift system.
Non-skiing activities
Most ski holiday resorts also offer tobogganing, night time activities and good quality, well priced dining and a growing number of spa hotels and facilities.
Linked ski areas
Ski holiday resorts in Austria tend to lag behind those in France in linking to form mega ski areas and where they do they tend to be a more a marketing concept than a linked ski holiday area. There are exceptions though; resorts such as Ellmau,
Soll,
Scheffau and
Brixen form the Ski Welt Wilder Kaiser ski region. Whilst Serfaus,
Fiss and
Ladis make up the
Ski Dimension region. More fragmented is the Ski Amade ski region that covers many of the ski holiday resort to the south of Salzburg.
Getting to ski holiday resorts in Austria
Excellent public transport ensures easy transfers to and between skiing holiday resorts from the regional airports. The main airports serving Austrian ski resorts are Innsbruck, Salzburg, Munich, Friedrichshafen and Klagenfurt. Driving to ski holiday resorts in Austria such as Lech or St Anton, from the French ferry ports, is little different in terms of distance than some of the middle distance French resorts.
City-based skiing
Cities in the mountains can offer a great distraction from the ski pistes, either during the day or at night. Innsbruck, the capital of Tirol boasts an international airport just 3km from its centre, several famous ski holiday resorts dotted around the local mountains and a wonderful and thriving medieval old town and popular university. Innsbruck has great direct train connections to Kitzbuhel and St Anton as well as the city of Salzburg. The city of Salzburg offers another excellent city location with ski resorts to the south of the city in the Salzburg Sportwelt ski region and the vast Ski Amade region. The ski holiday resorts of
Altenmarkt / Zauchensee and Flachau have superb road connections to both Salzburg and Salzburg airport.
Ski and Spa holidays in Austria
There are a growing number of ski resorts in Austria with ski holiday hotels offering spa treatments and facilities, commonly referred to as Wellness in Austria. Spa facilities can be a great way to end the day, relaxing aching bodies after a hard day on the mountain or can be a useful bad weather alternative to skiing. Hotels of various classification are beginning to provide guests with varying degrees of Spa facilities and relaxation areas.
